Landon has never seen his own reflection. He saw hers instead. He grew up watching this girl in the mirror grow with him. Grew up memorizing every feature, every movement, every horror she endured. He can see into her palace, into the darkness she’s trapped in.
When he was little, he told his parents about her. They thought she was an imaginary friend, and they humored him.
But she didn’t go away.
And when Landon was seventeen, he fell in love with her.
She is a captive of the Queen of the Damned.
Now he’ll risk everything to try to save her—his life, his home, his entire world.
Bloody Mary
The queen in the mirror.
Bloody Mary
Waiting to steal your soul.
Bloody Mary…

What a unique spin on the Bloody Mary stories. This is a YA novel that can be read as a standalone but is part of a series. Landon is 17 and grew up watching this mesmerizing girl in the mirror…that no one else can see. Elizabeth is said girl in the mirror. She held captive in the Isle of the Damned by Bloody Mary. She can feel Landon and his strength. She has been held captive for so long everything tends to run together. Things start to go awry and the Isle of the Damned and Earth are in trouble. Landon is called on for an important mission and Elizabeth finds her true strength and calling. This is truly a twisted tale that is the emotional rollercoaster you come to expect with teenagers. However, there are twists to this ghost story that you won’t see coming and these will keep you on the edge of your seat to the very end. This story touches on depression and how they overcome these obstacles. The characters and world building are great. You won’t go wrong with this story. I was not aware at the beginning that this is a novella for the Skeleton Key series but am looking forward to reading more!
Bloody Mary…Bloody Mary…Bloody Mary

Wendy Knight was born and raised in Utah by a wonderful family who spoiled her rotten because she was the baby. Now she spends her time driving her husband crazy with her many eccentricities (no water after five, terror when faced with a live phone call, etcetera, etcetera). She also enjoys chasing her three adorable kids, playing tennis, watching football, reading, and hiking. Camping is also big: her family is slowly working toward a goal of seeing all the National Parks in the U.S.

You can usually find her with at least one Pepsi nearby, wearing ridiculously high heel for whatever the occasion may be. And if everything works out just right, she will also be writing.

“It was everything
I
Could do to breathe when his gaze fell to my lips. Her perilous stare left me without words. It was the very way a lover left you speechless with a passing glance. But Declan didn’t just take a glimpse. He hardly blinked as he stepped closer, like he
WANTED
All space between us eliminated. Simultaneously, I gravitated towards him and wanted to run away. Everything I thought I knew about love and hate was destroyed in a heartbeat. The two were opposing feelings, but now I wasn’t so sure. And it was all because of
HIM.”

Sometimes the bad boys have the greatest romance stories. In the Once Wicked Series, the infamous villains we love to hate are no different. But in this series, they finally get the chance to tell their stories…

Updated and re-edited. Originally published in the Fairy Tale Confessions anthology.

Absolutely Priceless! Everything has a price. Some want money, power, or….freedom. In this retelling of Rumpelstiltskin and the Pied Piper we see how they finally meet and how their attraction all started. Declan Stilts wants his freedom and makes a deal with Piper’s mother for the soul of her first born child. The thing he doesn’t anticipate is to be absolutely captivated by Piper. In this novella we see how their push pull attraction starts. Does everything still have a price? This is an incredible story that pulls you in right from the beginning and will make you want to continue this in Soulless. You will not be able to put it down. Go get your copy now!

Award Winning Author, Sarah J. Pepper, specializes in fantasy and paranormal romance. She unveils the beauty of love in her new adult/young adult novels. Her works envelope dark, paranormal romance – think “happy ever after” but with a twisted, dark chocolate center. Real-life romance isn’t only filled with hugs, kisses, bunnies, and rainbows. True-love can be more thoroughly described in times of darkness and tribulation. It’s in those harsh moments where you see what a person is truly capable of – both the good and bad. Sometimes prince-charming isn’t always on time, and the glass slipper is a little snug. However, it doesn’t mean Charming is not Mr. Right, and who says every shoe is the perfect fit? www.sarahjpepper.com

Or at least I thought I was until Ollie calls me on the phone and tells me to come to Anchorage, Alaska. We find her in a renovated warehouse surrounded by halflings and Hex, her father and the greatest aswang warrior who has ever lived.

While trying to protect Ollie from the people who want to use her as a weapon, I stumble across a secret the halflings will kill to protect—a secret that could save the man I love. I may be the Cowardly Lyon, but I’m willing to do whatever it takes to protect my friends—even if it kills me.

My name is Ollie Volkova, and I am not broken.

Though my friends may say otherwise after I spent three weeks with a sadistic madman. They think I’m crazy, but when a monster called the Manananggal surfaces on the outskirts of Anchorage, my father offers to tell me about my mother in exchange for my help in hunting down the winged creature. It’s a deal I can’t pass up. Not when my mother’s past is so important to my future.

But the more I learn about her, the more I discover about my monster’s soul, and when my father reveals the final, darkest truth, the decision I make will change the course of my life.

*Warning: Recommended for mature readers due to sexual content, violence, and language.*

Truths and lies, twists and turns…Fate. Ollie was kidnapped and tortured. Her friends are on a never ending hunt to find her, to help her. Turns out that Ollie has reunited with her father who she learns isn’t all the monster that everyone believes him to be, at least that is what she is trying to figure out. She learns so much about her mom and how her parents came to be, why her mother left, and why her father keeps fighting. Sunny is with Luke and Hatter looking for Ollie. Ollie reaches out to them and they come to the sanctuary that Ollie is at.

So many demons…Luke is dealing with the truth about Ollie being a halfling, Hatter is dealing with his manic episodes, Sunny is dealing with trying to protect everyone, and Ollie is putting her pieces back together.

The story goes back and forth between Ollie’s and Sunny’s POV. You are totally immersed in this story. Ollie is struggling with deciding where she belongs. With her father, Hex, and the halflings or if she needs to go back to Fear University. The lesser evil, right? They are all faced with major decisions, they fight with themselves and their demons to do what is right.

The story is jam packed with…with everything. Action, love, and all around badassery. There are so many warring emotions that you can’t help but to feel like you are right in the middle.

The Fear University series is one of my favorites and the author did not disappoint with Monster Mine!

Meg Collett lives deep in the hills of Tennessee where the cell phone service is a blessing and the Internet is a myth of epic proportions. She is the mother of one giant horse named Elle and three dogs named Wylla, Mandy, and Drax the Destroyer. Her husband is a saint for putting up with her ragtag life. Her paranormal romance series, End of Days, is currently available in its entirety. Fakers, a contemporary romance, is also available.

Ren Lewis, who has faced every danger known to man, is about to meet a challenge he’s convinced has the power to undo him. When he discovers that his daughter, Adelaide, has been hiding a pregnancy he goes into hiding himself. Having a daughter was one catastrophe he struggled with. But now, being expected to welcome her baby into his home is not something Ren knows how to assimilate into his life. With a new ferocity he throws himself into his work in order to avoid family responsibility. And there’s enough work to keep him occupied with Vivian Bishop trying to infiltrate American homes, intent on controlling and manipulating their residents. Ren soon realizes that Vivian is his perfect enemy. She’s strategic, brilliant and stunningly beautiful.

In this third and final installment, the monster in Ren will have to do the unspeakable. He will have to evolve. Nothing in his life can be approached employing any of the strategies he’s used before. The evolution of Ren might be his undoing, but it might also be the one thing that brings him real happiness.

Ren is a LEGEND! Nothing more, nothing less. This is an incredibly epic story. This is one of my top favorite series EVER! Ren has made many appearances in Sarah Noffke’s books. He has always remained so mysterious but you know there is so much more going on with him. I ached to find out what made him the man he is. I asked and I received. So, enough about my random ramblings….here is my review.

Adelaide is pregnant!!!! She is having a baby and Ren is going to be a grandpa. Oh this is going to be a treat. Adelaide is so much like her father it’s not funny (well, maybe it is). Dahlia is handling everything with a grain of salt and has left for work. Ren has immersed himself into his work. Adelaide is trying to figure herself out. Ren is trying to find Vivian (our villain) and figure out her angle. Low and behold, he atually knows her from way back when. She was a student of his. Now there may be a mole within the Lucidites Institute. Ren and his department are on the lookout and Ren is working with Aiden on some new technology. In the meantime Adelaide has gone into labor and has had some complications. She is having issues with her emotions with the entire parenting issue.

These characters have evolved in the past stories and continue to evolve with this story. The characters become a part of you. A part of you that stays with you. As they work through their emotions (and they are tough but relatable emotions) it really makes you feel for them as if they are real people. For an author to evoke this feeling in you is absolutely priceless.

“Dahlia has just come around and accepted that I have a daughter. We’re back together. Adelaide makes sense in my life now. I mean, as much sense as a dog giving birth to kittens. But still I was starting to accept this bizarre fate I’ve been delivered. And now Adelaide has ruined it. Ruined it by breeding. By f***ing up her future. Weighing herself down with a burden. She had so much potential. The potential to become an elite agent for the Lucidites. But now, now she has a monster inside of her. One that’s going to f**k up our lives.”

“You think we’re cursed with these powers. I don’t disagree with you. But what you miss with your faulty reasoning is we’re not cursed with powers, we’re cursed to be great. That’s a lot of pressure. I get that. I feel that way, and yet I have to accept it.”

“I, Ren Lewis, was unselfish, maybe for the first time. It’s hard to know since selfless acts are about as easy to qualify as cloud shapes.”

In Revived, Lucidites book 3, Roya says “Most things aren’t awesome. The Milky Way is awesome. Niagara Falls is awesome. But a pair of shoes isn’t awesome. A side of fries isn’t awesome. Neither is a new hairdo or most other things that are described using that word.” Well, my friends…Ren is AWESOME! That is all there is to it. A huge round of applause to Sarah Noffke for finishing Ren’s series in the most epic way possible. A huge thank you for keeping me entertained! I am crossing my fingers hoping he continues to cameo in other stories. Perfection!

Sarah Noffke writes YA & NA sci-fi, fantasy and dystopian. She is the author of the Lucidites, Reverians, Ren, and Vagabond Circus series. She’s been everything from a corporate manager to a hippie. Her taste for adventure has taken her all over the world. If you can’t find her at the gym, then she’s probably at the frozen yogurt shop. If you can’t find her there then she probably doesn’t want to be found. She is a self-proclaimed hermit, with spontaneous urges to socialize during full moons and when Mercury is in retrograde. Sarah lives in Central California with her family.

Welcome to Halfway; where the waffles are golden, the moon is silver, and magic is just around every corner.

A century old curse is broken, releasing Exit Wainwright, an innocent man trapped alone in time.

Lost and in danger, he enlists Carlie, Gran, and their magic to find the warlock who sentenced him to a hundred years of darkness. The hunter becomes the hunted when Carlie’s spells awaken a cold-blooded killer intent on adding another pelt to their gruesome collection: hers.

But the killer has never been to Halfway before, where there are three unbreakable rules:

1. Don’t complain about the diner’s waffles.

2. Don’t break the laws of magic.

3. Never threaten a witch on her home turf.

Can Carlie solve an ancient crime, defeat a ruthless killer and save the love of her life from a vampire’s curse without burning the waffles?

Oh my stars! Nothing halfway about this series! The Halfway Witchy series is one of a kind!

As if Carlie’s life isn’t already crazy enough there are strange happenings occuring in Halfway. And guess what? Carlie is here to protect, no matter the cost. Exit is a man who has been under an ancient curse who has recently woken up. Carlie and Gran are trying to help Exit, but Exit is not the only newcomer to Halfway. Warlocks and hunters are in the area and it’s unacceptable. We follow Carlie and how she is handling the fact that Wulfric is no longer hers but we also follow Exit and learn of his life and curse. It’s perfect for the book and Exit is a great charater to continue in this story. Crazy situations and emotions can cause people to do some incredible and insane things for the people we care about…and for ourselves. And this fits Carlie to a T.

“I did my best to look friendly and incapable of turning someone into a toad. Flowers were good. Toads, not so much. I probably could if I had time to write the spell, but that wasn’t the point, perception being reality and all that.”

“Gran and I are more than wardens and less than saints.”

“I wanted blood, but we needed justice. The two were diverging paths for me, and the only question was whether or not I could find the strength to hold back when the moment of truth came. As I began to walk deeper into the woods, I had no answers, only hope.”

***Carlie’s and Exit’s journey is a wild ride and is nothing short of exciting. Loving this series and can’t wait for more!***

Left-handed. Father of an apparent nudist. Husband to a half-Norwegian. Herder of cats and dogs. Lover of pie. I write books.

Ren Lewis has the life he’s always wanted: the perfect woman and the perfect job as an agent for the Lucidites, fixing problems before they happen. And yet, he’s still miserable. He blames the monster buried inside of him for his problems. But what this redheaded Brit doesn’t realize is his life is about to be intensely transformed. Problems that he never could have fathomed begin to surface one at a time until his life quickly spirals out of control. Ren, who has never considered himself quite human, is about to learn just how flawed and vulnerable he really is. There just might be problems he doesn’t have answers for, villains he can’t defeat alone, and a heart in his chest that is actually capable of breaking. Readers witness a new side to this man, a side that will make him, if for only an instant, appear human. This powerful genius will meet his match. And she has the ability to do something special. She can break Ren Lewis.

Ren is baaaaack! And what a surprise! Oh. My. Gods. Ren is the snarky, red-headed man with the “I don’t care about anyone” attitude that we all love to hate. He does not disappoint…not even a little bit.

Ren is working for the Lucidites, the dream travelers who are all about helping humanity. Ren has come to terms that if he is going to have his “curse” he may as well use it for something good. He and Dahlia are working on their relationship. Both very much in love with themselves and in love with the misery they miss when they are without the each other. This is the only spoiler I am going to give. Are you ready for it? The bombshell??? Ren has a daughter! Adelaide! She is so much like her father. But Adelaide being in his life has upset Dahlia and their relationship is put to the test. Adelaide is a teenager but Ren takes her in to help her, not because he wants to have her in his life but he is afraid of the damage she can do with her powers if she is not taught. And so the journey begins with Ren and his daughter. In the midst of everything there are kidnappings occurring to other dream travelers and they are causing a chaos of sorts. Ren is trying to deal with his cases, his daughter, his love life, and his health. Ren is seriously put to the test but this story is so amazing! Witty, fun, and action packed! Can’t wait for more!!!!

“I’ve been in hiding for almost two decades,” I say. “So excuse me for not being around to tell you to slit your throat before you created a huge problem. It’s never too late and that’s my advice. You’re dangerous and should just off yourself and save us all the trouble.”

“You’re kind of fun, you know, like a snowball fight, chilly and piercing but still entertaining”

“I’m afraid of being out there,” she says, pointing to the window, meaning the world. I nod again. I acutely remember having those same fears. It’s hard being in a world that doesn’t understand me and that I can so easily break. It’s a wretched combination, like God was hoping I’d try and destroy his world and was just testing my self-control.

So, Ren has a daughter that is soooooo much like him. It’s incredibly endearing how they are wearing each other down. Ren is still Ren, but you see him starting to change…a softer, snarkier Ren.

Sarah Noffke, if you’re out there and reading this, I NEED MORE REN!

I received a copy of this book for an honest review.

I absolutely LOVE Ren and was thrilled when I found out this was going to be a series. He is the guy you love to hate. He has attitude and does not hold back when he doesn’t like you or if he as something on his mind (just ask Aiden or John). He is in a good place right now he works for the Lucidites and has Dahlia but it is ingrained in him to be miserable. He wants more complicated files but due to his health issues Trey is keeping him away from high stress assignments. Did I tell you we get to see Dr. Raydon if you read Sarah Noffke’s series the Vagabond Circus you may remember him. Yes, Aiden and Roya form the Lucitites series also make an appearance. I love that Sarah entwines characters from her other series. Sorry got side tracked OK back the Review. Things are going good for Ren until someone comes knocking at his door and completely tilts Ren’s world. Dahlia leaves him and he is left to deal with what’s standing on his doorstep alone.

It was great to see a new side to Ren although we do not see it often when we do its great. Ren is trying to deal with his assignments and the changes in his life all while having Trey on him about his personal health issues. I cannot reveal much more without giving spoilers. However, there are twists (oh sooo many great twists), great plot and even had me cracking up. I love Ren and his snarky, sarcastic, and funny sides but enjoyed seeing his softer caring side in this book. I cannot wait for the next book I need to know who is behind Ren’s assignments and to know how things are going to go in his personal life.

A few of my favorite lines:

“What are you smiling about?” I say. “You’re kind of fun, you know, like a snowball fight, chilly and piercing but still entertaining.” She says. “I’m not fun at all. Ask anyone. They’ll tell you.”

“Well living on sleeping pills isn’t an option for you. So you have two alternatives. You can learn to dream travel properly so you don’t create disturbances while sleeping. Or you can off yourself. Your call,” I say. “You don’t have many friends, do you.”

“Happy people are the worst.” She says, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “The majority of them have no bloody reason for being happy. If most people really saw themselves for the rejects they are they’d wipe that stupid grin off their face.”

Sarah Noffke writes YA & NA sci-fi, fantasy and dystopian. She is the author of the Lucidites, Reverians, Ren, and Vagabond Circus series. She’s been everything from a corporate manager to a hippie. Her taste for adventure has taken her all over the world. If you can’t find her at the gym, then she’s probably at the frozen yogurt shop. If you can’t find her there then she probably doesn’t want to be found. She is a self-proclaimed hermit, with spontaneous urges to socialize during full moons and when Mercury is in retrograde. Sarah lives in Central California with her family.

Imagine being eighteen. You’ve just become an adult, you can do what you like when you like. You should be attending parties or studying for school. Well that’s what Charlie Dawson thought her life would be like when she turned eighteen anyway. Instead she ends up parentless, living with her best friends and working at a nearby café. That is until her curiosity about her new mysterious neighbor gets the better of her.

Following Zane into the woods that surround her home town of Tole one night, Charlie gets a little more than she bargains for when he lets her in on Tole’s best kept secrets. The human’s that reside in town aren’t alone.

Thrown into a world where humans are no longer the world’s most feared predator, Charlie is forced to become something that she has been destined to since before her own birth. Will she stand up to the test? or will she ignore what has been fated to her?

5 stars! The story never stops! If you want something that is going to keep you on the edge of your seat, this is what you want to read. The author starts you right in the middle of a confrontation between the main characters, Charlie and Zane. Zane finally makes a choice and on a whim tells Charlie that she is the Destinata. This sets forth a series of events that she was destined to stop. She finds out she is half human, half Valguard. The Valguard are a super human type race that is using humans as experiments. Charlie finds out about her family’s past, and present, that will definitely pull at your heart strings. Her best friends are thrown into the mix of this battle as well. You will fully understand what it is to have friends as your family. She is put in the worst situations and always has to make a hard choice. She is constantly battling between what is right and what is best. You can’t help but root for Charlie and her friends in this epic battle against the Valguard.

A few of my favorite quotes:

“ The only certainty now was they could trust no one but each other and even that trust was fragile at best.”

“She may have been a coward in love, but she wasn’t a coward in war.”

“No time for regrets now, Charlie, just keep moving.”

“My life is nothing but a game to them, but they don’t realize just how well I play.”

This is an action packed, crazy filled adventure filled with friendship, love, and loss. The old saying “keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer” keeps coming to mind while I was reading this. You never know quite who you can trust. I am anxiously awaiting Book 2!

Sunshine, surf and family are the corner stones of Nicky’s world. Being born and raised on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia gave her the opportunity to chase her dream of photography and later novel writing. She fell in love with fantasy and dystopian and crafted stories with strong men and powerful women. As well as her many contributions to chbb anthologies, her debut novel through Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly – Courageous Souls – was released November 6 2014. Her Second Novel – The Darkness Within was published February 5th 2015. When she is not busy being an author, you will find her walking along the water with her husband or chasing after her two children.

Wynter Reeves is a law-abiding citizen of the State, a willing conformist whose daily life is haunted by terrorism and oppression. With the constant threat of death hanging over her like a shadow, she forces herself to live by a strict set of rules, all in the hope of ensuring she is never noticed. However, on her twenty-first birthday, as she prepares to take the placement exam that will determine her future within society, she begins to show symptoms of a rare and debilitating illness—ultimately attracting the attention of the State. Taken into the custody of the feared research facility known as the DSD, her worst nightmare becomes reality.

Ripped away from the life she knew, Wynter is forced to become the test subject of the mysterious Dr. Richter. Through him, she learns the true and terrifying nature of her condition: a disease called Ultraxenopia.

A fascinating dystopian read! Regardless if you are a dystopian genre buff or not, you won’t be disappointeed. I don’t normally like to compare books in my reviews but I felt like this was a cross between Hunger Games and Divergent (I love them all). The world is set up so you feel like you are right there. The background for the characters is beautifully flawed. This author gives you just enough to be sure you continue to find out more about the others. Perfect!

Wynter is about to take her placement test when something happens to her. She is having hallucinations and is taken to the DSD and is told that she has a disease, Ultraxenopia. She is told that she will be safe but ends up being tortured by Dr. Richter for “the greater good”. She keeps seeing this man in her visions. She escapes and finds this man who is part of the rebellion group PHOENIX. As if her head wasn’t spinning while with the DSD, her whole world is turned upside down. Fear, confusion, disbelief, questioning of morals, and trying to figure out what is right and what is wrong….This story will have you all over the board and trying to figure out exactly what is going on and what the next step is. Truly captivating!

“When I enter the corridor, I notice Jenner leaning up against the wall next to the door. He’s whistling a soft tune and his eyes are closed. He looks serene, beautiful even. At peace. I envy him, wishing more than anything that I could know what that feels like.”

“Sympathy— or I guess, in this instance, empathy— can alter a person’s mindset toward just about anything, regardless of the circumstances. Or, in our case, because of the circumstances.”

“From the day I was born, I’ve been told to suppress my emotions —that by doing so I would successfully integrate into a society that it’s taken me my whole life to realize is poisonous. Humans are meant to feel. We’re meant to love. We aren’t meant to shut any of that out, and what I never grasped before is that you can’t. One way or another, they’ll find their way to the surface. One way or another, they’ll find a way to break through. Holding back all of those feelings for twenty-one years leaves me unprepared for the onslaught that attacks me now. Each emotion tears through me, burning into my soul until there’s nothing left but a pile of ashes. From those ashes, what rises up is the new me.”

This is a new author for me and I’m hooked. There is a cliffhanger and I am anxiously awaiting the next installment. A must read!

M. A. Phipps was born in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1987. In 2009, she moved to London to complete a Bachelor’s Degree in Media Communications and Journalism. It was there that she met her husband and they now live in the Southwest where she works fulltime pursuing her true passion: fiction. She enjoys writing any genre, but the majority of her work contains some sort of fantastical element. In 2013, one of her short stories was shortlisted for publication and in the following year, she submitted her first-full length novel to an online writing competition where it was rated second overall out of over two-hundred manuscripts. In 2015, she decided to self-publish her dystopian novel, Ultraxenopia, which was acquired by a publisher five months later. At it’s re-release, it became an international bestseller.

You can find her online at maphipps.com or through her various social media accounts.

Zanya Coreandero is a seventeen-year-old orphan with only a single friend and no hope for a normal life. Diagnosed with anxiety and night terrors, no one believes her cuts and bruises are a result of an evil entity, and not a brutal case of self-harm.

With the only home she’s ever known being the isolated institution—where breakfast is a handful of medications, the psychiatry sessions are mandatory, and her every move is watched—the only relief is her red-haired roommate named Tara, who’s more like a little sister than her best friend.

Free will is strong, but destiny is stronger…

When Zanya is kidnapped, she meets a group of gifted Mayan descendants, each with a unique ability. Gone from a nameless castaway to the only hope of mankind, Zanya is forced to make a grueling decision: bond with an enchanted stone and save humanity from rising underworld forces, or watch helplessly as Earth falls victim to a familiar dark deity from her dreams. This time, he’s playing for keeps.

A wicked secret hides behind a handsome face…

When Arwan, a dark-eyed timebender, takes interest in Zanya’s mission, it’s unclear if his intention is to help, or if he’s on a hell-bent mission for revenge. Wary of falling for another guy with major secrets and a tainted past, Zanya fights to keep her distance. If only her heart gave her a choice.

Tara may have spent years in an asylum, but that doesn’t make her crazy–just fearless.

Dropped in Moscow with a the group of enchanted Mayan descendants, seventeen-year-old Tara Weeble is forced to wait on the sideline while her best friend—the Stone Guardian— battles to reclaim a friend’s soul trapped in the underworld.

It sucks being ordinary when everyone else is superhuman…

A mortal girl with a tainted past, Tara is left to deal with an overwhelming sense of inadequacy. Her boyfriend, Peter, is a healer. Her best friend is The Guardian, and everyone else is a powerhouse of awesome strengths. Meanwhile, she struggles to leave her childhood of abuse in the past, and while Peter picks her up every time she falls, it becomes clear he deserves better.

When they opened Pandora’s Box, hell came pouring out…

When she’s given a chance to aid in the group’s mission, Tara is eager to pull her own weight, even if it means uncovering buried memories of being held prisoner by the underworld general. Now haunted with flashbacks of torture, Tara wanders from the safety of Peter’s arms into a city of depravity and corruption. And amidst all this evil is a young man with an agenda of his own, who leads her down a road that will either prove she is a hero at heart, or drag her into a world she’s always feared.

He wants revenge, she wants redemption. And in an underground ring of missing girls and bloody sacrifices, only the fearless can survive…

After living her entire life in an orphan asylum, Zanya fears she may actually be losing her mind…

Following the discovery of her ancient Maya bloodlines, eighteen-year-old Zanya Coreandero is faced with a daunting responsibility. She must protect the relic stone while Sarian, the underworld general, ceaselessly drives her to the brink of insanity.

With the approach of an ancient bonding ceremony, Zanya struggles to control her abilities—and her desires…

As the winter solstice approaches, it brings an onslaught of unexpected side effects. While Zanya struggles to seize control over her supercharged powers, she must also face an overwhelming suspicion that her boyfriend, Arwan, is hiding a secret so dark it could destroy them both. And with her powers finally taking root, the struggle to pace their relationship takes on a life of its own.

Just when she thought life couldn’t get more complicated…

With the arrival of a surprise houseguest, Zanya’s deepest fears about Arwan are confirmed. And when middleworld deities intercede, the group of gifted Maya descendants are confronted with hardships they never saw coming—including an enemy more deadly than they have ever faced.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. And when that woman has no soul and a taste for revenge, they will need the powers of every surviving ancestor simply to stay alive.

A single mistake has torn Jayden’s life down the middle, leaving him at a crossroads…

After an ancient Mayan ceremony goes horribly wrong, Jayden is left to face reality—the girl he once loved is pledged to another. At his breaking point, he steals a cab to leave behind the group of enchanted descendants, this time for good.

When Hawa—a beautiful but lethal acquaintance—decides to call shotgun, his only choice is to take her along for the ride.

He’d be glad to have the company…if it were anyone but her. He only knows her by occasionally sharing a hallway in Renato’s huge estate in Belize. It’s clear she has a perma-chip in her shoulder, and they have absolutely nothing in common. So he thinks…

With no cash and nowhere to stay, Hawa leads him into the heart of Guatemala City to an abandoned hotel of orphaned kids. As more of her tainted past is revealed, an unwelcome memory reappears in flesh and blood, threatening to break her wild spirit.

A mysterious orphan is the only one standing between him and the new queen of hell…

Modem, a spunky twelve-year-old girl with a knack for computers, seems to be keeping her eye on Jay. When his abilities go rogue and pull him back to the underworld, Modem shows she’s more than meets the eye.

When everything spirals out of control, Jayden struggles to protect Modem and Hawa from very different enemies. But he won’t be able to save them both…

A long-time enthusiast of things that go bump in the night, Theresa began her writing career as a journalism intern—possibly the least creative writing field out there. After her first semester at a local newspaper, she washed her hands of press releases and feature articles to delve into the whimsical world of fiction.

Since then, Theresa has been married, had three terrific kids, moved to central Ohio, and has been repeatedly guilt-tripped into adopting a menagerie of animals that are now members of the family. But don’t be fooled by her domesticated appearance. Her greatest love is travel. Having traveled to over a dozen countries—not to mention an extended seven-year stay in Kodiak, Alaska—she is anything but settled down. Wherever life brings her, Theresa will continue to weave tales of adventure and love with the hope her stories will bring joy and inspiration to her readers.

It wasn’t a question the group of friends wanted to think about. With Vincent trying to hide his werewolf, Alia and Coray discovering their frightening powers, and Coleen getting slammed with the news she’s adopted, they have enough to worry about.

(Never mind that they also have to to deal with Vincent’s and Alia’s crazy exes, Coray’s mother, Coleen’s father and the otherworldly creatures someone is sending after them to kill them– There was really enough to keep anyone busy right through homecoming.)

But the day Vladimir Vaduva shows up at their school and people start turning up both dead and drained of blood, it becomes a question they have to have ask.

As Rosa and Billy get pulled into the vortex, they realize they need an answer…

And, they have the feeling they aren’t going to like it.

EXCERPT

Alia woke up to the sound of a perversely happy bird chirping in a nearby tree. She was soaked to the bone and uncomfortable, though no longer cold. She was not in the mood to listen to cheerful little birds, whose only purpose in life was to tweet infernally pleasant tunes to those people of the world who could wake up at the crack of dawn.
She pulled at the blanket and fluffed the pillow, though her choice of bed was apparently a cold hard surface that was in no way comfortable. She adjusted the blanket again and rolled onto her back to try and find a better sleeping position.
“Do you often sleep in cemeteries? ‘Cause if you do, you’re weirder than I am.”
Alia’s eyes shot open and she leapt up from her cold slab. Spinning around, she found the source of the voice: Coray was leaning against a headstone, arms folded, a twisted smirk on his face. She stared at him in disbelief for a few seconds, then realized what he had just said was dead accurate. She had fallen asleep on the steps of a mausoleum. She relaxed a little and grabbed the blanket. “Where am I? How’d you find me?”
“You’re at Green Knoll Cemetery,” Coray answered. “Apparently, napping with the dead. I was at Vincent’s last night when you busted in.” Coray leaned up from the headstone. “We tried to run after you, but the sky opened up on us as soon as we walked out the door. I ran to your house, and your mother was standing in the doorway, looking horrified. The front door was shattered, and the car is going to need some attention as well.
“Your dad showed up on the porch looking a touch panic-stricken. He told me you ran and wanted to know if I knew where you’d go.”
She sighed. “This is all so screwed up. I guess the rest of them will be here in a few minutes?” Alia wrapped the blanket around herself.
Coray shook his head. “They don’t know I went to look for you. They think I left and went home. No one knows you’re here.”
Alia slumped in relief. “Thanks, Coray.” She sat down on the tomb she had just leapt off of.
“You’re welcome.” He took a seat next to her.
Alia looked at him. “Why did you tell me to let my parents know about the hogrodan’s wound?”
“I knew your parents would know how to take care of it.” Coray shrugged.
Alia shook her head. “Dad was really upset this thing was after us. And you said something about stopping it for good.”
“Yeah, I did,” he said. “Well, since I was the one who forced the hand, I guess I should explain what’s going on…” Coray looked over at her. “And I would guess a damn right better than the half explanation you got last night?”
“The half explanation?” Alia laughed sardonically. “You are joking. All I got last night was really confused. A brother I never knew claiming he was somewhere around nine hundred years old just appeared in the middle of my living room. My parents are lying to me.”
Coray shook his head. “They aren’t lying to you, Alia. What did they tell you last night?” Coray said.
“That I’m a witch and have four siblings. There was something about wolf’s bane? Hen’s bane? Royalty? By the time they got to that I wasn’t listening. These mysterious siblings are about as fond of my mother as I am. Especially Jacob.”
Coray nodded. “Okay. Well, they lied to you about a part of your life, not the whole thing. I would blame them, but I wouldn’t completely blame them for that. It’s some sort of stupid tradition that has gotten them in trouble before. You’re a witch, Alia. A full-blooded, natural witch. Just like I am.”
Alia sighed. “For some reason, I didn’t think they were lying about that part.”
“Pissed me off too,” Coray commiserated. “Here.” He produced a cup of steaming tea, complete with tea bag still steeping. “Earl Grey?”
Alia looked at the cup as though it were poison, and after realizing how cold and thirsty she was, took it from him. “You?”
“Yeah, me.” Coray nodded. “When Vin and I were in the accident this summer, I was scared beyond reason. My powers popped out in a moment of desperate need, to save my own ass in that car. That’s what happened to you last night.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Author a few poems here and there and several intermittently updated blogs, she lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and three cats. Chatter box, compulsive writer, bon vivant, stunt commuter, and a ninja in her dreams, J. Rose enjoys losing herself in the capes and masks of her superheroes and is always on the look out for a new adventure, on the page or in real life.